Revised Paper

“In a Station of the Metro”, Pound reminds us that life can be one rapid blur of events or it can be as distinct and lingering as the memory and beauty of a single petal of a flower. I am reminded of this belief through the patrons who frequent my aunt and uncle’s café/flower shop in the town of Patterson. Many of their customers are people who are in their upper forties and lower fifties of age. Every time we have talks about life they always tell me that life is short and that it flies by, much like trains on a metro. In just two lines this poem presents the reader with imagery, symbolism, and a deep meaning of life.

The reader can infer from line one when Pound says “these faces”, he is implying that he is there observing and watching the people at the station. Through his eyes and the first line of the poem vivid imagery is created; it describes faces of people waiting at the transit station. The important factor of this line is the word “apparition”; this word is usually attached to a person or character that has passed away or been murdered. By using a word that denotes a singular noun, signifies that Pound sees no differentiation in all the faces that he sees, but rather that he sees them as one, ghostly blurred image. Perhaps through his eyes, he sees no one who stood out to make a distinct and visible difference in this world.
The selection of the word “apparition” also incites the feeling and connotation that the faces have souls that are unfulfilled and searching for answers, much like ghosts. As an observer who sees this apparition, there is also a perceived sense of panic as these collective faces watch the selection of metro trains going here and there. Which train will lead them to their chosen destination and fulfillment in life; will it just pass them by and will they be one minute too late?

All of these images and invoked feelings are important to the poem because they seamlessly relate to the second line, “Petals on a wet, black bough”. This adds to the ominous yet true meaning of the poem which describes how all the people at the station are bound to pass through their own, personal timeline of life. Everybody there at the station has their short and limited existence on this earth. That is why Pound describes them as “apparitions” because he knows that people will come and go as long as the earth keeps revolving. The second line also paints a picture in the reader’s mind of petals on a black branch of a tree. The petals’ lives are imminently to the end, as the branch that sustains them to life is black and is dying, just as we have to fall to death at some point in our lives.

Another important factor that makes “In a Station of the Metro” a tightly, well-woven piece of literature, is the irony of its shortness and simplicity. The briefness of the two lines makes a powerful statement; there is parallelism between the shortness of life and the shortness of the poem. Life is short, and yet it does not have to be overly done with so much movement and noise like trains in a metro. Pound brings that parallelism to life and provokes emotion through imagery and perhaps even sound. Imagine the metro full of trains, representative of life destinations. One can hear roaring and pounding activity, representative of everything and everyone around our lives. The apparition is the fading blur of the individuals who let life go by without making a difference…and the reality is that their train is coming to a screeching halt. At times, as humans, with so much activity, we choose to make life complex and often times, meaningless with the decisions that we make or fail to make. Pound contrasts this complex, meaningless, reality through the simplicity of the petals.

The deliberate point of making the simple petals so distinguishable, and then, making the human form, blurred and undistinguishable, sends a message of its own. Pound could have used “dried leaves”; however, he chose petals. When one reads the word “petals”, a picture of flowers, with such beauty, so distinct as to be recognized by its individual petals, is visualized. Perhaps even tender, warm, and loving memories are created by such petals coming to mind. These petals are leaving this earth in a very simple, yet, sharp and distinguishable manner, unlike the complex and confused individuals blurred into one undistinguishable blob.
All this is found in this two-line poem. While it may be too late for the faces in the apparition, the writer is perhaps reaching out to us, its readers with a ticket—a ticket and an opportunity to reflect on our own lives and our own destinations. Sure life is short, however, it is long enough to make a difference, to affect those around us, even if only for a brief moment.

What will I do with my ticket? Well, I’m going back to my aunt and uncle’s café/flower shop, to join in on the laughter and to soak in and truly appreciate the lingering smell of freshly ground coffee. Most importantly, I’ll be taking the time to put my life in slow motion, blocking it from the distractions of meaningless noise and movement. While I’m there, I’ll also purchase my favorite flower as a reminder to myself to make a distinct and lingering difference with each passing day. Yes, life is short, and at times, complex with its many destinations, like the trains in the metro. However, life is also like a single petal, with the simple ability to create lasting, meaningful, and distinguishable memories. Which train and petal will you choose to be?

Pound, Ezra. “In a Station of the Metro”. The Norton Introduction to Literature. Ed. Peter Simpson. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2005.